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Baadasss TV is a British television series, devoted to youth-oriented fashion and culture, which aired on Channel 4 in 1994. The series, presented by Andi Oliver and American rapper Ice-T, was "the first British series to explore the wilder side of black culture".[1]
The show was made by the production company Rapido TV, also responsible for Eurotrash and Passengers.[2] It broke the mould of "po-faced" minority programming such as the BBC's Ebony.[3] As well as an appearance of Lee 'Scratch' Perry, the show featured "soft-pornography, rapping dwarves, paintings made from elephant droppings and fitness fanatics Juicy Julia and the Raggaerobics crew".
Some commentators criticised Baadasss TV as a "stereotyped freak show".[3] Trevor Phillips, then a LWT producer, attacked the programme as "just another nigger minstrel show",[4] reinforcing black stereotypes of 'gangsters, pimps, whores and freaks'.[1] However, the show had its defenders. Patrick Younge, producer of the very different 1995 magazine show Black Britain, argued that the real problem was a broader lack of television aimed at black audiences:
The real trouble is that [Baadasss TV is] the only black programme on TV. It does what it does well - if it was part of a whole spectrum of shows, people wouldn't have a problem with it.[3]
In 1996 Baadasss TV was "taken off the air for its lack of political correctness".[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Raymond Enisuoh (2002). "Baadass TV". In Alison Donnell (ed.). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. Routledge. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-134-70025-7.
- ^ Richard Morais (1 October 1995). "Bad Taste, with a Twist". International Documentary Association. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Decca Aitkenhead (6 July 1992). "BBC tries to vault the ghetto walls with black news". The Independent. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ Stewart Lee (26 May 1995). "Ice-T". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
External links
[edit]- Baadasss TV at IMDb